Another Sponsor Pulls Ads From Fox News

Michael Hedges October 5, 2009 Follow on Twitter

Media buyers place their clients advertising where cost and audience delivery make the most sense. It’s cold accounting, quite efficient. Sponsors, however, must consider the programs where their spots are placed.

“Upmarket supermarket chain” Waitrose, reported The Guardian (October 4), cancelled its advertising on Fox News programs carried on the UK Sky television channel. A company spokesperson cited customer complaints over “this particular form of rightwing cant.” Waitrose ads in the Fox News segments were removed “with immediate effect.”

News Corporation owns the Fox News channel and holds a majority stake in the Sky channel.

The Fox News program drawing complaints from Waitrose customers is a talk show hosted by Glenn Beck. His daily banter consists of political tirades, mostly directed against American President Barack Obama. His audience has been described as the “unhinged” among America’s rightwing. Glenn Beck compliments his television program with a daily radio program.

“We take the placement of our ads in individual programmes very seriously,” said a Waitrose spokesperson, “ensuring the content of these programmes is deemed appropriate for a brand with our values." Perhaps Waitrose management feared some of those “unhinged” appearing at their stores asking for white robes and automatic weapons.

A segment of American media has risen in the last two decades, from the veracity-challenged (Drudge Report and Fox News) to borderline hate speech (talk radio). With the election campaign in 2008 when it was clear that the American public would be turning away from the rightwing the tone of these outlets became more strident. With the election of Barack Obama as the first African-American president all pretense of civility has passed.

Earlier this year the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Chicano Studies Research Center released a preliminary study of the growing trend: “Hate Speech on Commercial Talk Radio.” The report quoted FBI statistics on hate crimes in the United States. The UCLA study cited four types of hate speech: false facts, flawed argumentation, divisive language and dehumanizing metaphors. No statutes in the United States curb hate speech, constitutional free speech provisions taking precedent. American broadcasters are forbidden from editing, altering or refusing political advertising, regardless of content.

Most European States prohibit hate speech broadly, racist speech being a particular target. In the UK the Public Order Act 1986 forbids “expressions of racial hatred.”The German criminal code (Stafgesetzbuch) prohibits “publicly incited hatred.” The Council of Europe has criticized authorities in Poland and Hungary for selective enforcement of hate speech laws.

Advertisers, however, need not suffer the distinction between free speech and hate speech. Protecting their brands is a primary responsibility. Those choosing to separate their messages from offensive program content, however that is perceived, are within their rights. It's a message nobody can ignore.

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